Did you know today is National Holistic Pet Day? Here at Chez Romeo the staff believes strongly in the concept of holistic health for Pugs and me.
What does holistic mean? Well, to our household it means better, healthier living that impacts our whole being – mind, body and soul. So everything you do to nurture one, you should be considering how you’re nurturing the other. Good food, natural products, interactive play, regular dental care and more all contribute to a happy healthy pet.
But when it comes to pet food, what does “holistic” mean? You may not realize but there are no official standards for a pet food to use the term “holistic.”
We’re Halo kids. It’s an awesome food that we love. And, it uses the term holistic. Before I go any further, FULL DISCLOSURE: the staff is a consultant to the Halo marketing team. But, as always, we would not share this if it weren’t something we’d share anyway.
Anyway, Halo believes all natural, nutritious food impacts a pet’s whole health.
In honor of Holistic Pet Day, Halo conducted a survey to find out what consumers consider “holistic” when it comes to pet food. You can read all the results for the Holistic Pet Day survey here.
Most consumers agree the following are standards for using the term holistic.
*No artificial preservatives or colorings – 84.8%
*All natural – 83.6%
*No corn or fillers – 79.1%
*No inferior by-products – 82.3%
*No rendered animal parts, such as chicken meal – 78%
*No “4D” meats (diseased, dying, disabled or dead before butchering) – 80.3%
Other top attributes included: Only fresh meat or fish (58.5%), includes lots of fruits and vegetables (50.3%), zero recalls (50.4%) and the use of ingredients one can find in their own kitchen (45.2%).
One statistic I found interesting was that nearly half of survey respondents say they have seen pet food brands they don’t consider “holistic” using the term.
Until there are regulations, you’ll have to decide for yourself what “holistic” means. Wanna share? Tell me what you think it should mean in the comments below!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There’s no definition for “all natural” either. It is all meaningless and marketing. You have to be able to know the standards to read the bags and know what the food is all about. They’re never going to disclose the 4 D thing. Ever. “Only fresh meat or fish” – unless you’re feeding raw, it isn’t going to be fresh. It is going to be canned or cooked (Kibble). Holistic is a rather pointless term.
I totally agree with the statement above
I very rarely rely on the front package to determine if I’ll buy something or not. I always read the list of ingredients to determine if it’s a quality food or not. Too bad more people don’t do the same!
Happy Thursday!
Very informative pet food source. Taking care of your pets really is not a joke thing.